Monday, June 13, 2011

YES!

As I mentioned last week, I went wedding dress shopping this weekend! The plan for the day was to have fun, try on ridiculously priced gowns, and drink champagne with some of my favorite people. I went in with zero expectations.

Our first stop was La Belle Elaine's. I was impressed by this boutique from the very beginning. The women at the front counter were friendly and cheerful, and even though it is a fairly upscale bridal salon, I never got a snobby impression from anyone.

The gal who took care of us was named Krista, and she was super cool. She listened closely to my ideas and offered helpful tips and advice as well. I tried on the most number of dresses here, probably around 15. We weren't allowed to take photos, but my sister-in-law managed to sneak a few.

This was one of my favorites that I tried on:

You can't really see the detail, but there is some beading on the top that sort of cascades down over the sash, and the bottom is chantilly lace. It was light as a feather. Generally I stay away from strapless anything, but this was actually quite flattering. The price tag, though? $3300 (I knew this going in, though, so I didn't get attached to anything I tried on).

This was very similar to the other one, but the v-neck looked much better on me. This was around $1500, I think.

After trying on dresses at Elaine's, we went to Purple for lunch and champagne. Between the four of us, we polished off a couple bottles of Prosecco and some wine (and lots of cheese, of course). Our next stop would be Marcella's.

Marcella's is pretty much known for being snobby. Their dresses START at $4000 and they're the only boutique in the city that carries Vera Wang. Luckily, the experience was quite pleasant (not as enjoyable as Elaine's, but still fun). I tried on two incredible Vera Wang gowns, one Monique Lhuillier, and a couple others. They were all stunning. I love to sew and seeing the incredible craftsmanship that goes into these gowns is mind boggling.

At one point, my sister-in-law requested that the sales gal bring out the biggest, poofiest dress they carry. We had to have a Sex and the City ugly dress moment! I'm not kidding, I could hardly even walk forward in this dress because there was so much fabric. And sitting down? I tried to sit in a chair, but was elevated above it because there was so much poof. SO not my style, but oh my god it was so fun to try it on!

Our third and final stop was the new Nordstrom Bridal Suite. This was probably my favorite part of the day. I had spoken with my consultant, Nanette, the day before to answer some questions about what I was looking for. When we met in person, she was SO sweet and absolutely adorable! She was incredibly helpful and not at all pushy.

All over the fitting area are racks and shelves with TONS of accessories and shoes, and everyone is encouraged to try things on. So of course my "entourage" decided to try on some fabulous head pieces while I was behind the curtain. The whole experience at Nordstrom felt so relaxed and fun. I tried on 6 or 7 gowns here including these:

This was a stunning Nicole Miller gown with a really cool brocade fabric. It was super sexy, but also over $1000.

This is BCBG. It is one of my favorites from the whole day. It was really flattering and incredibly soft and comfortable. The price? Only $179.

You can't see in the picture, but the whole dress has quite a bit of texture and teeny tiny sequins, and the top has some really cool mesh layers. It is also light and breezy, super soft, and feels more like a nightgown than a wedding dress.

15 comments:

La Belle Elaine's is where I bought my veil. It was lucky I already had my dress when I went in there because my mom and I fell madly in love with a dress they had that was over $2000! Glad you had a great day :)

@Sabrina - They had some amazing dresses there. And great accessories!

@Michelle - I know, right! Thank you!

@Kori - Thank you :-)

@Becky - Sadly, we weren't able to get a picture in that dress. The sales gal was standing there the whole time. Dang! I did try on another poofy dress at the other place, so I'll send you that picture :-)

@Prettylittlereckless - Thank you! I couldn't believe I found it so quickly.

@Angela - Thank you! I am so in love with it. I'm going to need input from all of you on accessories now.

@Cass - I know! I totally didn't expect to find it that day, but I lucked out!

@E - I think their prices are better because everything is off the rack. You buy it in your size and take it home that day, instead of having it fitted. Works for me! ;-)